Left in Places of Despair
by GoodbyeYBR
Summary: Hermione and Ron finally have a life together, but dangerous times in the wizarding world force Ron to leave Hermione. Will she be able to survive his absence, or will chilling news send her over the edge? Please Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! This is my first Fanfic, so I will be working out some kinks as I continue writing.

But your reviews would be very helpful!

Anyway, I based this fanfiction off Damien Rice's song **"The Animals Were Gone".**

Disclaimer: 1. And, I do not own the Harry Potter Universe, just this plot. (If I did own it, I would be filthy rich at this point, so damn damn damn)

2. Some chapters will be rated **M** (like this one!) So if you don't want to read it, then don't. Just giving you a heads up!

Chapter 1- "Three Words they did Not Need"

Hermione took the long knife in her hand and began to chop. The metal blade hit the carrot and then the wood board with loud thuds as she sliced the carrot. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes looked swollen. Once again, she would be home alone tonight. Hermione took in a deep breath and let out another sob, thrusting the knife at the vegetable with even more vigor than before. Her mind mechanically brought up the back of her hand to wipe the snot and tear covered face. At last, she gave into the sobs and set the knife down, grabbing the counter top with both hands to settle herself. What happened to her composure? One bad day at work should NOT do this to the female member of the Golden Trio.

Okay, so maybe the day wasn't too terrible. It was typical, her boss, Schrumer, had once again taken credit for her latest addition to the Auror Protection Program. He did this frequently, but today he had 'suggested' that she come see him in his office for some 'private' conversation. She rolled her eyes. But maybe her tears were from her husband's successive absence for the last three nights. She wanted to talk to him, not about Schrumer's offer for a 'chat' (Ron's jealousy was legendary, and Schrumer might wind up dead somewhere), she just missed his company. Hermione sighed softly, letting go of the counter and walking over the sink, letting the water warm run as she rested her fingers under the tap. When it had finally heated, Hermione gathered the liquid into her hands and splashed it over her face, scrubbing the tears off it. It wasn't a fight that had kept the two apart, rather, Ron had been on-call for Auror duty, and had been called in all three nights.

Her husband was an Auror, which was a dangerous, time-consuming job. She had come to terms with that even before she married him. Glancing down at the ring, Hermione admired the small stone. It would be almost four years in July when Ron finally slipped the ring onto her finger. The event was quite a Weasley Wedding, held in the back yard of the burrow as Fleur and Bill's wedding before them. She wouldn't think about that now though, she had a stew to make.

Hermione knew how to cook with magic, and she had become quite good at it. But cooking with her own two hands always meant more to her, and it gave her the time to think. Just like a complex potion, her homemade food put Hermione in 'the zone'.

She didn't bother turning around as she heard the front door unlock and slam itself shut. Hermione heard the shuffle of feet in the hallway and then the small thud of her husband resting himself against the door frame. Two brown eyes took in her shape and she grinned softly. She knew what he would look like at the moment without even having to turn around. He would be wearing the outfit she laid out for him this morning, black trousers, a white oxford shirt, and a silk black tie. The tie would be slightly undone around the neck, and his red hair would be messy, as he ran his hand through it or held onto it as he tried to think something through. He would have already taken off his robes, she mused, and he would have thrown them on the couch instead of hanging them on the hook properly. She would have to pick that up before she went to bed, he would be needing it looking fresh again tomorrow.

"How was work?" Hermione asked softly, even though she already knew the answer. He wouldn't want to talk about work, he wouldn't want to talk about anything. She grinned to herself, counting down the seconds until he would ask, maybe even beg. The bad day at work melted off of her, she could think about her project later.

He had walked up behind her, placing his hands against the counter on either side of her, placing his nose lightly against her neck. Ron leaned his front into her back, taking his wife in. He softly brushed her hair to one side of her neck and letting his lips trace from her ears to the nape of her neck. Hermione sighed softly, letting her back rest somewhat in his. She set the chopping knife down as one of Ron's hands shifted to run up her thigh. With a quick movement, Hermione turned and was facing Ron, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing a line down his jawbone.

Ron quickly guided her lips to his, sucking on her bottom lip and drawing it out a bit. Her husband had three distinct kisses. There was one in front of their family and friends, which was almost too provocative for her taste. It wasn't quick and simple, his kisses could never be like that. He would hold onto those kisses for a while, letting them linger on her lips. This kiss was mostly for showing off, as he would always grin and cock an eyebrow at the taunting Fred and George whenever they were around. She loved him for many reasons, but one was how much pride he put into her, how much he always wanted to show her off, tell everyone how great she was.

The next kiss was just before they fell asleep each night together. Hermione knew he couldn't sleep without her, and she couldn't sleep without that kiss. It was the kiss that made her forget the rest of the day, and as he would pull her into his arms each night, she knew the world outside their four walls meant nothing, as he wrapped her in his tranquility.

The last kiss was the one he was giving her right now, and Hermione moaned into his mouth. It was always leading up to sex or during it, and it was used both as a seduction tactic and an affirmation. The affirmation of their eternal bond together, that she would be the only one to ever receive this kiss. Ron would make Hermione forget how to stand when he placed his lips to hers this way, and he knew that.

His ministrations moved to her collarbone and then the hollow dip in her neck that he would lightly trace his tongue over. Hermione gasped this time, and looked down to find her husband staring up at her, his eyes full of lust. Her nipples stood out hard against the white tank top, and she subconsciously ground her hips into his. Ron checked down at his progress of seduction, and licked his lips in delight. He took the low cut tank top in his teeth and pulled it down, letting the soft ridges of his pearly whites run across her chest, as he pulled the pert nipple into his mouth. Hermione had lost the ability to think as her husband swirled his tongue around one of her most sensitive areas, but she found her hand unbuttoning his black trousers.

It was his turn to moan as she quickly grabbed his shaft, stroking it languidly. Ron quickly remembered what he had started, and he ripped off Hermione's tanktop, spilting it down the middle. His lips quickly trailed down her stomach, as he fell onto his knees, pulling her skirt down with him. His eyes lit up when he found the pink lacy bits of knickers he had bought her for their last Valentine's day. A low guttral sound escaped him as he saw how moist the panties had already become. He placed his hands on her hips and grinned up at his wife, taking the knickers off her with his teeth.

Hermione couldn't take it much longer, as she ground her hips towards his face. She was in no placed to be teased, she needed to be shagged, quick and hard, and he knew that.

Ron placed a kiss on her sweet center, then slipped a tongue instead of her. He quickly found his rhythm, which was confirmed by her groans and thursts. Ron was going to make her work for it, bringing her close to climax. He thrust a few fingers in quickly, and she cried out his name, making him shudder. His member ached, but he continued on, wanting to finish her off once before he took her again.

"Ron, please!" she screamed, not able to take it anymore. If he wasn't inside her soon, she was going to finish herself off her own way. She was soon lifted into his arms, kissed roughly by his wet mouth and then laid on their kitchen table. They had made love on almost every surface of their house, but this was a new table, and she guessed he felt like christening it.

He made haste, shoving his remaining boxers off himself and throwing the undershirt over his head. She waited for him, patiently. Well, not so patiently, as she had slipped her finger inside and began to pleasure herself. This wasn't so much for her own benefit, as it would be for her husbands. Ron sat back and watched her for a few seconds, thanking the gods that she had married him. He couldn't hold on to his head any longer, the need to slam into her overcame him and he quickly removed her hands, climbing onto the table and shoving himself into her.

Hermione took a sharp intake of breath as the pleasure hit her, counteracting her husband's thrusts with her own. Her hand reached out and took firm hold of his arse, pushing him into her more. He got the message and thrust harder, their grunts, moans, and heavy breathing getting louder by the second.

Ron tried not to go too quickly this time, he wanted her to come right along with him. But he couldn't help himself, thankfully, Hermione was ready too. He placed his hands on her hips, his fingers digging into her flesh as he slammed into her, emptying himself into her as she screamed out his name, both riding on a mutual orgasm.

He collapsed onto her chest, breathing heavy into her neck as he tried to regain his mind and body. It took a while for their breathing to slow down, as sweat dripped and slid down both of their bodies. Ron lifted himself up a bit, gazing down at his wife, who took on the wonderful after sex glow.

She lifted herself up on her elbows and kissed him gently, whispering a breathless "I love you" into his ear before letting herself lie back down on the table. They laid like that, him still inside of her, up on his hand, watching each other for a few minutes. There had been no need for her to tell him she loved him, he knew it. The verbal confirmation helped his ego on some occasions, but her love was a constant thing. It hung around them like air, always present, never changing.

Ron finally pulled himself out of her, finding that he had the strength to stand up off the table, but he steadied himself by holding on to a chair. His glazed over eyes took in his wife, her hair, once tame this morning, was messy and had fresh traces of sweat. While her toned legs were bent a little as they rested up on the table, he watched her chest rise and fall more slowly now as her breathing returned to somewhat normal. Ron could remember her Hogwarts days, when she was still somewhat scrawny and her busy hair could never be contained. She was beautiful then, he thought, but she was astonishing now. The curves of her body, the once tameness of her hair, everything came together, as if she was painted, she was surreal to Ron.

Hermione slowly sat up, taking her husband's hands as she now sat on the edge of the table and pulling him closer to her. She placed soft kisses on his chest, letting her nose breath in his musty scent.

He looked down at her with soft sadness in his eyes. She didn't know yet, and he didn't want to tell her. His day had been full of meetings and strange events that would change their perfect married life. These nights where he could come home and make love to his wife could be gone for quite a long time, and he didn't have the heart to tell her.

Ron took another look and sighed. 'Not tonight,' he thought, and he soon gathered her in his arms. "I'm taking you to bed my love," he whispered softly in her ear. He had felt the need to be quiet, that if he spoke loudly it would ruin the love they just made. She nodded her approval and he carried her softly up the stairs, muttering a spell that turned off the downstairs lights.

He would break it to her tomorrow, tomorrow would be the day she would know that their lives would be changed for quite some time.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: "The Start of Something"

Ron stared down at the sleeping angel wrapped up so carefully in the cotton sheets. He watched Hermione take in slow, deep, and peaceful breaths. The soothing sounds of her breathing did nothing to quiet the butterflies in his stomach. Guilt seemed to be gnawing on his insides as the hours ticked by with him not telling her the one thing that would change their lives forever. He hesitated for a moment, thinking of waking her, but lacked the courage. Not now, he thought. Any time but now, not when she is looking so delicately peaceful. He gently moved a silky lock of hair from her face. Unconsciously Hermione knew in her dream, and Ron smiled too.

The first signs of dawn peaked through their windows. Their cottage was in the woods, he had preferred their seclusion after the limelight the war had brought upon them. For a few months after the Final Battle, the Wizarding world wanted to know all about how the 'Golden Trio' was getting along, plastering their lives all over the tabloids and The Daily Prophet. It was only after Harry issued a plea to the public to let their private lives 'remain private' did the media back off.

He turned his thoughts back to his wife, noting the contrast between her slightly tanned skin and the bleached white sheets. It was September now; the leaves would begin to change from their bright greens to the rusty reds and vibrant reds. Her wild brown hair lay across her pillow in soft, messy curls. He ran his fingers through one curl softly, letting the soft hair run through his hand. Ron turned to his side and propped his head up on his hand, his elbow now on the soft mattress to support him. Hermione was everything he could have hoped for, intelligent, strong, steady, and, incredibly beautiful. His breath caught in his throat as he took his wife in again, he was going to have to leave soon, and he prayed to the gods that it would not break him.

His day yesterday had been quite unexpected, as he, Tonks, and Harry were escorted into the chief's office. Ron shifted nervously in his seat as the chief cast a strong silencing charm around the room.

"What I have to tell you is going to be difficult, so please, prepare yourselves", Kingsley Shackelbolt said softly, not looking at the three young people who sat in front of him.

"With all do respect sir, we've defeated Voldemort, anything you throw at us we can handle", Harry said, staring at the chief intently. The world was rid of evil, in Harry Potter's mind. Even the remaining Death Eaters, who Harry's job required him to arrest, we're clinging to a false hope. Yet the ministry still kept up this façade of the 'dangers' that the wizarding world was still in.

Ron was not so convinced as Harry that all evil was gone, not after he had spent many hours as an Auror nearly missing killing curses. So he prepared himself for Kingsley's news, whatever it may be.

"There have been a few sightings of Lucius Malfoy", the chief stated quietly. "And we need to go hunt him down, he's been gathering the remaining death eaters back together and we can't let that happen…"

Ron gave a snort. "That's impossible, Lucius Malfoy is dead! I saw Remus kill him with my own eyes!"

Tonks was wide-eyed, though, this meant if Lucius really did return, their would be a taste for revenge in his mouth for her husband. "But how did do it? How did he fake his own death?"

"An endless supply of Polyjuice potion and money. He's been living all over the world, but now he seems to be wanting us to see him. Malfoy wants to lead us into a trap", the chief stated, looking to the three Aurors before him. "This is more serious, I believe you've heard of the recent developments of the American Wizard Scientist George Randolph?"

Ron nodded his head softly, Hermione loved his work, and the two had become pen-pals of sorts. They had fought one night about it, as Ron's jealousy took over him and he questioned the intentions of the letters. From that point on, Hermione had left their correspondence out in the open, left the letters laying around the house, just testing him to read them, to prove that she was not having an affair. It helped when he learned that Randolph was pushing ninety.

"Well it appears that he has been kidnapped by the death eaters, making his latest invention their greatest weapon," the chief stated now, his voice growing in strength. "He invented the atomous revivus, which recreates dead atoms into new ones. Thus, he could bring 'he-who-must-not-be-named' back from the dead".

Harry jumped up, furiously slamming his hands on the chiefs desk, "That's NOT possible! I banished his soul! He will never be able to return!"

The older man looked up from his desk at the fuming Wizard before him, "You may have banished his soul, Harry, but his atoms still remain. He could come back, less powerful of course, but he could still come back".

Ron stood and placed a hand on his best friends shoulder, but saw the familiar look come back into Harry's eyes, the look he had when he saw his parents in the mirror. He sighed, whispering softly, "The dead do not want to be brought back to life Harry, it's been too long…"

Harry soon whipped the look off his face, and sadness resurfaced into his eyes. "So what are we supposed to do about this, Chief?" He said, bitterness seeping into his voice. In this moment, Harry felt little obligation to the Wizarding world, the world in which he lost his parents, godfather, and mentor. He had fulfilled his prophecy, he should be able to live his life by now.

"You, Tonks, and Weasley will go undercover, you will go find and rescue Randolph and arrest the remaining Death Eaters…. And if 'he-who-must-not-be-named' is once again alive, you will kill him," the chief stated, not looking them in the eyes. They were his three strongest, most bright Aurors, and they had done this once before, he had faith that they could do it again. "You will have to leave your loved ones behind, and you must not contact them. It would only jeopardize their lives. You will be undercover for as long as it takes you, it could be weeks, it could be months…. I'm sorry."

"Why can't we bring Hermione, Ginny, and Remus with us? They fought in the last war? They're all brilliant, they could help us!" Tonks said, her voice rising a bit, trying to hide her tears.

"They are not Aurors, Tonks, I cannot authorize them to go. I do not want to put them in danger. The less people, the better. You can disguise yourself quickly, and we'll be giving Potter and Weasley an incredible amount of Polyjuice potion to use. The fate of the Wizarding World, our World, lies in you," the chief stated now strongly, looking at the three.

And that settled it, Ron would once again have to risk his life to save the Wizarding World. As an Auror, he knew that it was his duty to stand up for what was right, and to keep the Wizarding World save from the dangers of evil. But as a husband and a lover, he knew that it was his duty to protect the one he loved the most. He thought the two would never conflict with one another, but now just two days away from the journey ahead of him, he felt the strain as never before. He would have to leave Hermione, the woman he loved, his wife. The wife who declared to him last week that she wanted to have a baby, he sighed, remembering the event.

"I think we're ready Ron," she whispered softly, her head on his chest and she listened to his heart rate quicken. It was three in the morning, and they had just had another passionate round of lovemaking. His bare chest began to rise faster, 'A baby?', he thought, it hadn't even occurred to him that she would want to start that so early on, when the world was still somewhat unsteady and their Gringotts vault was just now starting to fill with money.

"But Hermione…" He said softly, looking down at her wild mane of curly hair, "We don't have enough money for this yet…" Ron was quickly looking for excuses, anything. He did not want his children to grow up like him, 'poor', he instantly hating himself for thinking it. The Weasley household had never been poor, and it was always full of love and friends, things that he was taught mattered much more than galleons.

"Ron, you know we have enough money. Our children don't need to grow up with every new model of the Firebolt. Those things shouldn't matter…" She whispered softly, tilting her head up and letting her warm brown eyes search her husband's. He couldn't withhold information from him, and she saw the fear flash in his eyes.

"It's not just that Hermione…" He whispered softly, placing a chaste kiss on her forehead. "It's my job, it's the state of the world right now…" Ron knew that his job was dangerous, that Hermione could easily be a widow any day. And he didn't want to bring kids into the world where evil still lurked.

Hermione still searched his eyes, and just nodded. She knew to back off, to bring it up in a few more months. When he felt more comfortable almost being a Level 4 Auror. Ron would get the promotion soon, and then she'd inquire again. But she wanted to bear his children, the ache for her to bring their child was constant (and so were Molly's not-so-subtle hints at a grandchild). Hermione had always imagined that they would be having a baby soon, they'd be 24 by the time their 'bundle of joy' had arrived. The image of her and Ron and a big happy family remained in her as she fell asleep that night.

She had been so patient with him, so kind, Ron thought as she brushed a piece of fallen hair out of her face. He'd fix this, he'd give into her petitions. Because he wanted to believe in something when he left, to believe that there was hope for a life after this mission for them.

Ron slowly rolled out of their bed, trying to be quiet. His feet landed on their carpeted floor with a soft thud, and he looked over quickly to Hermione. She still slept like an angel, but rolled towards his body, shivering slightly because of the absence of his arms. This brought a smile to his face, and he tiptoed over to their bathroom door, cursing the creak in the door softly as he opened it, sneaking his tall form in the crack. He opened up the cabinet where neat little rows of potion bottles were kept. There had to at last a supply for about three months in there, Ron thought. He was glad to see that Hermione was true enough to sticking to their agreement. He remembered the night when he had to deny his wife the one thing she said would make her feel complete. Not that Ron didn't want to have children, but he wanted more financial stability, more security in the fact he would be able to give his son or daughter every luxury that was denied to him by his own family. Well, no longer would Hermione have to wish in vain. He drew his wand and made each bottle levitate and head in a line towards the sink. Once there, they deposited their contents. Ron watched the dark blue contents swirl and exit down the drain.

Once each bottle was empty, he waved his wand again and the bottles filled with the same color of blue liquid. Only the liquid was no longer Hermione's potion, but just colored water. He made sure that the bottles were back in their neat little weekly rows, taking a bottle out for today. With a soft sigh, Ron softly crawled back into bed with his wife, pulling her closer to him. He rested his nose in her neck and breathed in her scent of vanilla and cinnamon, before quickly kissing her cheek. Ron could try to ignore the growing guilt in his stomach, but he knew before long that he would have to confess to his wife the task that lay before him.

This would be the start of something, Ron thought, he just hoped that he would be around to see what unfolded.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello darlings! Thank you all so much for your reviews, they have been extremely helpful and I hope you continue them!

This chapter is again going to be rated **M** for content (this one is more of a 'just in case' scenario).

I also want to say thank you to my lovely beta (and co-writer?) Lavinia Andronicus, she is 100 amazing.

Please review! (Chapters also will come more quickly if you review more!)

**Chapter 3: "A Soon to be Breakfast for One" **

Hermione woke up slowly, eyes taking a few moments to adjust to the light. By the looks of the amount of sunlight in the room, it was already late in the morning. She turned a bit, so she now lay facing her husband. His eyes were closed, his mouth slightly opened, his breath hung warm and heavy in the tiny space between them. She moved closer, leaving no space between them and kissed his lips softly. Ron made no sign at waking so Hermione, sighing softly, and made to get out of the bed. At least she would be productive today. But as she scooted over to the edge of the bed, a strong hand scooped her around the waist and pulled her back. Ron gave a soft grunt as he situated his wife against him.

Hermione rolled her eyes but grinned. "Mr. Weasley, it's time for you to get up," she whispered softly as she rolled over, facing him, placing delicate kisses on his jaw line. His prickly face tickled her nose; he had yet to shave today.

He grunted at her, eyes still closed, relishing in her kisses. "Not yet Mrs. Weasley, five more minutes, give me five more minutes love," but his words were interrupted by Hermione's kisses, which found no complaint with him, Hermione noted. Hermione watched as Ron opened his eyes to find his wife staring intently. His lips soon confronted hers, deeply kissing her, as though to reach her very soul. But Hermione knew better, there was too much to do today, and very little time to do it in. He gasped softly when she pulled away slowly, letting the kisses linger between them.

"I'm up! I'm up!" He said, before moving over to kiss her properly. Hermione noticed there was some urgency to his kisses, as though they would be the last he would ever give to her.

Before he could protest, Hermione was already out of his arms and out of bed. 

"Love! I'm up!" He said, sitting up quickly in their bed, the white sheet falling off his bare chest. "Come back to bed." She teasingly took the blanket from their bed, pulling it slowly off her husband, watching his lean form take shape. Hermione sauntered over to the bathroom door, as Ron arched his head so he could look at her body, covered by the cotton blanket, and framed in the doorway. Hermione looked back and noticed for a fleeting moment a look of guilt spread across his face as she took potion bottle in hand. She looked down at the little bottle with a bit of suspicion, but drank the liquid in one giant gulp. Nothing seemed to have change; it was the same morning-after-potion she took at this time. Hermione walked back into the room, covered only by the blanket that normally adorned their bed. Hermione watched with some satisfaction as his breath once again caught in his throat.

She glided back into the bed, grinning at him as she dropped the blanket, exposing her naked form to him before stealing his lips in another needy kiss. "Good morning darling, I'm sorry I woke you. But this problem I'm having is urgent". The words rushed out of her mouth and before he could reply, she had him straddled on the bed.

Ron grinned as her hands slid up his chest, what a wonderful way to re-begin his day. "Now this problem love... how urgent is it?" He spoke slyly, watching as his wife surveyed him like a piece of meat.

"Very." She spoke sweetly to him, before placing another kiss delicately on his waiting lips. Ron sat up on his elbows and continued the kiss when she tried to break away. These were the moments they would remember most. Moments when she looked stunning without trying. Moments where he could completely succumb to her, and she was willing to take the lead. He sighed softly when she pulled away, breaking their moment together.

"Come darling, we need to get ready," she stated quietly. Hopefully he took notice of the look of desire that lingered in her brown eyes.

He followed her when she slipped out of their bed and sauntered over to the bathroom. She had taken his hand, leading him there. Ron bit his bottom lip in anticipation as Hermione twisted the dial of the shower, letting the water pour out. Steam began to fog the mirrors and cloud Hermione's vision as she led her husband into the hot shower waiting for the two of them.

"Mr. Weasley, your shower is ready," Hermione breathed in his ear, making the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He watched her, dumbfounded, as she stepped into the steamy shower and beckoned him in….

Ron sat at the kitchen table, pouting. After their morning lovemaking session, he was told that he would be spending one of the last days with his wife doing the thing he dreaded most: shopping.

Hermione wasn't taking him robe or shoe shopping he knew, but it didn't make him dread the event any less. As he had turned off the shower faucet, she handed him a towel and the dreadful news. They needed to go to Diagon Alley to pick up a few potion supplies, visit his brothers at their joke shop, and refill Hermione's book order. Ron dressed quickly, hoping Hermione would not notice the little bit of distain in his eyes.

He loved his wife dearly, but the bookstore soon became his least favorite place. They would spend hours in Flourish & Botts, pouring over the latest edition of some textbooks on Ancient Runes. _For Christ's sake,_ Ron always thought, _we're not even in school anymore!_ But this shopping made her happy, so he would go obediently partake in it. It would not be the ideal second to last day that he would spend with his wife, but he had not the courage to tell her yet. They would live today pretending that tomorrow would be just any other day; as though they had the rest of their lives to have more ordinary days.

Ron watched his wife make him breakfast. A cheese omelet; what he had every morning. Hermione knew how to cook, and just like her potion grade, was brilliant at it. But a cheese omelet was all he ever wanted. Ron had made up his mind earlier in the marriage that the less time she spent on his breakfast, the more time she would spend with him. This conclusion had brought him a much happier marriage, and would have that more than kippers and mash in the morning.

She was humming softly as she slid the cheesy food onto his plate, smiling softly as she walked over and placed it in front of him. He swallowed hard, guilt once again invading his stomach. Who would she make breakfast for after he was gone? He still had yet to tell her that he was going to leave, but how was he to tell her?

Hermione placed a soft kiss on his cheek before sitting in the chair next to him, taking a large bite into her apple. The juice softly slipped down her chin and Ron longed to lick it off her. Instead, he handed her napkin, and she thanked him kindly. Ron watched as she read her new copy of the _Daily Prophet_, her eyebrows furrowing when she read something she didn't like, or her mouth opening slightly when something shocked her. He had never noticed these expressions before; Ron had never had the time. Any other morning, he would have eaten his food in record time, and would have off to work or set to fixing things around the house.

His wife looked up at him with a puzzled expression, but he paid no attention. He was still staring intently on the curve of her neck.

"Darling, are you feeling okay?" she asked with a worried air, which sent Ron out of his reverie. He shook his head yes, but still looked at her intently, watching the way her lips pursed when she was about to speak. "Then, why haven't you eaten?"

Ron blushed, shifting his gaze to his full plate. "Yeah… sorry…" He picked up the fork and stabbed into the yellow eggs, quickly forking its contents into his mouth. Hermione continued to watch him, her one eyebrow raised. She finished her apple quickly and walked to the trash, throwing it into a bucket called 'decomposable', which Ron remembered that she added to the soil in her garden. It was a Muggle trick that she had taught his mother. The decomposed foods helped to enrich the soil, plus, the stench helped to keep the gnomes out.

She stood, leaning the palms of hands against the table. He supposed that she was waiting for him, and he nodded that he was done. His wife took the plate and set it in the dishwasher, a 'Muggle' contraption she had insisted on purchasing. Ron walked over to her once again and grabbed her hands, holding them out in front of them. He searched his eyes for a sign of knowingness or fear, but he could not detect any. She had raised her eyebrow again and cocked her head to the side, which made his heart lift and he quickly placed a kiss on her delectable lips.

Hermione smiled, but looked confused as she led him over to their fireplace. They would Floo to Diagon alley for their shopping, and then that night they would go to the Burrow for dinner.

Ron watched as his wife took the Floo powder and shouted into the fire, "DIAGON ALLEY" and then she was gone. He took the green ashy powder into his hands and stared down at it. It symbolized to him connection. That he could throw this powder into a fire and be with anyone he loved, at any time.

And now this powder, these connections, would be gone. He didn't know for how long they would be, and that endless future scared him even more. Ron, Harry, and Tonks, would loose their connections.

_Harry, _Ron though excitedly. He would ask Harry how he broke the news to his sister. Yes, Harry would have the answer to this problem. Harry, "The Chosen One", would certainly know the answer to this dilemma.

But Ron would have to ask later. Now a few minutes had gone by and his wife was probably waiting for him at the other end of the fireplace.

Fear crawled into his stomach, and he stepped into the grate, calling out the same destination just as Hermione had done. He would ask Harry later how to break the news; he would ask Harry how to say goodbye.


	4. Chapter 4

Why hello everyone! This is the forth installment in the "Left in Places of Despair".

Just letting you know that reviews are very appreciated. So please, do slip me some of your thoughts.

Chapter 4 "A Wake up Call and Some Flirtations"

Ron groaned softly, feeling his body being roughly and rudely shaken awake. A soft murmur of his name entered his ear. But when he didn't bother to respond, the murmur became much more of a shout. He opened his eyes quickly, looking into the furious face of his wife. Ron looked around, realizing he had fallen asleep in Flourish & Blotts. When they were first married, Ron had followed Hermione eagerly around the bookstore, being as helpful as possible. His over cheerfulness, he hoped, would mask his boredom. Now, four years later, he gave up this façade, blatantly showing his dislike for book shopping by falling asleep in one of the big armchairs the store offered.

His wife frowned at him, looking a bit hurt. She would never understand his dislike of her favorite hobby. "I've finished," Hermione said in a huff. Noticing his wife's unfavorable mood, he stood quickly and kissed her cheek before taking her books, all fifteen of them.

"Right. Uh, let's get going." He said uncomfortably, not knowing how long he had been asleep or what time it was now. Ron quickly walked down the stairs to the check out line, and he could feel his wife's stare at him. Normally, they would be having a row at this point. Hermione would have asked him why he fell asleep, Ron would have defended himself, and they would have fought it out. This in turn would have resulted in Ron apologizing, or on the very rare (but extremely nice) occasion of an all night make up session.

But Ron had no will to fight, not in these last days with her. He set the books on the counter, paying for them quickly, without even stopping to argue about the cost. Ron grabbed the bag full of them, shrunk them in size, and slipped the tiny package into his pocket.

Hermione was watching him carefully, he had noticed, but he quickly took her hand and led her out of the store. Slapping a smile on his face, Ron turned to his wife, "Where to now love?" His stomach sunk at her look of concern. She saw past his act and his guilt hit him like a tidal wave. He couldn't keep lying to her, but how to tell her now? In the middle of Diagon Alley?

"We're going to go to visit Fred and George…" Hermione said to him, looking at him in an overly concerned, motherly way.

Motherly. If he didn't feel guilty already, this just about knocked him over. Ron barely noticed that Hermione had taken his hand and was guiding him down the busy street. They passed children running out of Honeydukes, large bags of sweets at their sides. He smiled softly at the children who laughed at each other as they skipped down the street.

Ron barely noticed that he had been steered into his brothers' joke shop. He nearly ran into a group of teenage boys before he caught himself. Before he could compose himself, he felt the familiar taunting from the other side of the shop. Fred and George were loudly making fun of him from different sides, Fred from back in the storage room and George from the cashier's counter.

"Oi! Our baby brother has stopped by to pay us a visit George!" Fred shouted loudly, grinning from ear to ear. The customers in the store turned and watched this spectacle, noticing that two famous war heroes, Hermione and Ron Weasley. After the end of the war their stardom skyrocketed: Hermione graced the cover of _Teen Witch!_ and _Witch Weekly_ a few times, and Ron was always a headliner. Even now that the war had been over for a few years, their fame had not fully diminished.

"Yes! It appears he brought his gorgeous wife with him! Our lucky day!" George shouted back to him, walking over and thrusting Hermione into a bear hug. Ron watched as his wife laugh heartily and kissed George on the cheek. He buried the jealous feelings deep within him, the twins, like Charlie, always made playful passes at Hermione to give Ron a rise. However playful they may be, Hermione _was_ bloody gorgeous, so Ron could never be too careful.

"How are you George?" She said with a smile, and looked him up and down carefully. Ron knew his wife never approved of the joke shop, mostly for the fact that the twins routinely tried out their new products on her. Most of the time she was too clever to fall for their traps, but every once in a while they got her. The last time they had turned her hair neon green for a week and had tried every possible spell and potion to change it back, but to no avail.

"Oh great as usual, although I'm not looking forward to another family dinner at the Burrow." George mused, grinning as he flicked his wand at a young boy, binding him to the ground as he tried to steal some merchandise. "Fred! I've got another present for you!"

"ANOTHER shop lifter!" Fred said excitedly, running eagerly out of the back room. Ron grinned softly. Normally he loved the playful torment that Fred and George put upon the young 'criminals' who tried to steal the shop's jokes. But now he couldn't seem to muster the needed humor for the situation.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Really, you to should just let the ministry handle him." She said in a slightly amused voice. Ron turned his detached gaze to look at her. Her lips were once again pursed in annoyance, and the twins turned and grinned at her. She would now be the subject of their torment.

"Hermione! Tsk, tsk, tsk. You taking your frustration out on us does nothing darling!" Fred said grinning; he began to circle her, tauntingly. He gave George a knowing look and he started to do the same.

Ron's stomach sank. He watched nervously as his wife put her hands on her hips. "This won't work on me boys, I have nothing to be frustrated about, your plan won't work to make me angry and annoyed."

"Oh really?" George said with a glance to Ron. "Nothing about our little Ronnie is annoying you at the moment?" Ron really felt scared now, they knew! They knew he was leaving and that he hadn't told her yet.

Hermione was tapping her foot in annoyance with them now, and Ron looked at her terrified. "No. Nothing about Ron is annoying me." She sad heatedly.

"Hmm, has he not been shagging you properly??" Fred said with a grin.

The enraged look flamed into Hermione's eyes and Ron breathed a half sigh of relief but his ears instantly burned. They LOVED torment her about their sex life, and although he out on the act of embarrassment, he was more than happy to let the world know that he bagged Hermione Granger. "FRED!" Hermione almost shouted, and the customers, the twins, and Ron stared at her in half amazement, half fright. "We do NOT need to discuss our sex life with you!"

George was almost rolling on the floor with laughter at this point, the prim and proper Hermione never wished to discuss such crude matters in public. The twins always taunted him for marrying a prude in the beginning, but they quickly stopped that talk when they had walked in on them at the Burrow. When they realized Hermione was a vixen in the bedroom, they cut Ron some slack, but Hermione's torment only increased. "Hermione, love, if he's not handling you properly, I know more than one man in the room who could get the job done!" George said with a laugh.

A cry of 'Here, Here' came from the teenage boys in the corner, and Ron sent them an angry glare, while this just made Hermione blush scarlet.

"Really Fred and George!" Hermione grinned, and Ron knew she had found her comeback. "At least ONE of the Weasley boys is actually getting any!" She said triumphantly, and Fred fell to the floor, grabbing his heart in mock pain.

"Oh Hermione! You've got me! You've wounded me deep!" Fred shouted up at her with a grin, George joined him on the floor and was pretending to look up Hermione's robes, which caused Ron to pull his wife into his arms.

"Alright, alright you two that's enough!" Ron said quietly but sternly, his jealousy creeping up the back of his neck. On any other day, he could handle the teasing, but today he was much too much on edge to handle his brother's flirtations with his wife.

Hermione smiled down at both of them, "It seems I'm the winner of this battle anyway!" she said while taking Ron's hand and leading him outside.

"You wish!" Fred and George shouted after her from the doorway, grinning and waving after them.

"We'll see you at dinner!" Ron shouted as she dragged him farther into the street. He turned and smiled softly at his wife, who was still laughing at the twins in the doorway, who were now making crude sexual gestures at them. Ron grinned a bit and led Hermione further away from the store. "Where to now love?" He said softly into here ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Ron breathed in her scent from her hair, the wonderful combination of vanilla and cinnamon.

"I was thinking we could go back home now, we have to be at the Burrow in a few hours, and I'd like to bake something." Hermione said softly, almost in a whisper as Ron placed soft kisses down her neck. If he had his way, they wouldn't be baking. Hell, they wouldn't be going to the Burrow at all.

"Yeah, right…" He breathed in her ear, noticing the goose bumps rise on the back of her neck. Ron held onto her tightly, Apparating them back to their house quickly.

They landed just outside their house, already locked in a passionate kiss. There was going to be no baking this afternoon…


	5. Chapter 5

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Okay, so I'm fed up with not being able to write as freely as I would like to. So this story is officially moving to the M rating. I'm sorry, but I just feel that some M material will be coming up in the story and I really don't want to water it down!**

**Thank you to my beta/co-writer! And to reviewers!**

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Chapter 5 "How can I trust you now?"

The afternoon slipped by quickly, and before Ron knew it, he was standing in front of his closet, watching his wife dress quickly. The 'baking' his wife involved more of the brownie batter on his chest then it did in the baking pan. As he watched Hermione slip into a pair of jeans and white v-neck shirt, the guilt slowly crept back into his stomach. Having some fun with brownie batter had been a convenient distraction from the task of telling her, but now it was all over, Ron could only feel the guilt once more.

He shook his head quickly, trying to drive the thoughts from his mind. Once again, he found himself longing for a distraction, something that would take his mind away from the daunting task of telling the woman he loved he might never come home. Luckily, such a distraction was to be had this evening at the Burrow. This would be another fun, loud dinner, equipped with his mother's fabulous cooking, the twins taunting, and Amèlie, Fleur and Bill's young daughter, being doted on by everyone in the room. It would be an evening of amusement and laughter, and one in which he would be able to forget about his dangerous assignment and the long absence from the woman he love. He would tell her when they got home, as to not ruin one of their last moments of pure happiness together.

_But what if Harry had already told Ginny…_ the voice in the back of his mind was telling him. _Surely everyone would know if Ginny knew_.

He tried to shove this thought out of his mind as well. Harry wouldn't tell Ginny yet! He would drag his feet just as long as Ron would. And Ginny would make much more of a scene than Hermione would, so Harry would of course wait until the last moment.

This reasoning calmed him as he slipped on a pair of faded jeans. As he ran a hand through his wet hair Ron felt the guilt grow. How could he let the woman he loved not know that he was leaving on a mission that could easily kill him? He survived the Dark Lord once, but barely, and the mental and physical scars of the war still haunted him daily. Could he do this again? Could he live through another war?

He had to. He had to live so that Hermione and the rest of the world would not have to live in fear of a third coming of the Dark Lord. Ron knew that he was strong enough to help fight again to keep evil at bay, but did he have the strength to walk out the door, turn his back on his wife, and leave her? Ron didn't know if he could leave Hermione alone in this world. _Well, if all goes according to plan, she won't be alone for too much longer_.

So Ron gathered his thoughts, put on his jumper, and followed his wife down the stairs. He watched as she grabbed for his hand, lacing their fingers together and pulling him sensually close to herself. To hide his grin, Ron bit his bottom lip. This would be a dinner where she would want to leave early only to continue their baking fun afterwards… and he was ready for it.

Except he would have to tell her after dinner about his mission. That would kill the mood in a heartbeat. He paused on the stairs, looking down at his feet. How would she take this?

Hermione obviously seemed to notice his pause and took it for something else. "Oh Ron, I know we would rather stay here and," she took the time to strategically place her hand on a most delicate area of his trousers, "have some fun." Ron breathed in quickly at her tender touch and held his free hand against the railing. "But we have to go, you know how your Mum gets whenever someone misses a family dinner." She let her hand off of his now, very erect member. "We'll just have to wait a few hours to pick up where we left off."

Ron sighed now, knowing the cruel trick Hermione had played on him as he readjusted his trousers, trying to hide his erection to the naked eye, which was damn near impossible. She led him down the stairs and into the kitchen. He watched her grab the botched batch of brownies and looked at her reflection in the shiny, black refrigerator door. Ron smiled softly as he walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and breathing in her ear, "Darling, you always look beautiful."

He knew of her insecurities, he understood that she fretted over his mother's opinion about everything Hermione did. She was always worried about her cooking, cleaning, appearance, anything that his mother might find a fault in her. What she didn't know was that his mother loved Hermione just as much as she loved Ginny, and no matter how many times Ron told her this, she would always deny it.

She nodded her reply as she turned around to kiss him, locking their lips for a brief moment before she took his hand in her free one and led him into the living room. With a flick of his wand, he lit the fire quickly for them. The two grabbed a fist full of floo powder and Ron leaned over to kiss her cheek. _She's breathtaking_, Ron thought to himself as she studied her as a whole. But before he could take in each beautiful aspect of her, she called out their destination into the fire and was gone.

Before leaving, Ron took a look around their living room, admiring the pictures over the fire place, one of his niece, one of he and Hermione on their wedding day, one of the entire family at the Burrow, one of Hermione's parents, and one of the trio together outside of Hogwarts. He smiled softly, watching the picture dance between the images of Ron and Hermione shyly holding hands to the two boys laughing at a fuming Hermione, but then it faded into the three laughing together.

Ginny had taken that picture, and Ron noticed now that Harry was motioning her to join them in the photo. Ron's smile faded when he looked at the clock and realized that Hermione had left five minutes ago. He quickly threw the powder into the fire, "THE BURROW!" Ron yelled out, as he stepped into the flames and went back to his old home.

He had expected to hear laughter, loud conversation, and a few yelps of surprise as his siblings fell for the twins' tricks. But that was not the case.

Harry and Ginny sat on the couch together, holding hands. His sister had been crying, and quite a lot he suspected by the red puffiness of her eyes. She was resting her head on Harry's shoulder, and neither spoke. Harry looked up at Ron with worried eyes when he stepped closer into the room. So he had told Ginny.

Ron was officially screwed.

He could overhear Hermione's voice in the kitchen, and she seemed not to get the hint as she talked and laughed at the twins' half-hearted jokes. She looked so at ease with them, and at each laugh that escaped her full lips, Ginny shot her glares across the room.

Harry stood quickly, walking over to Ron and dragging him outside. Ron gulped as Harry slammed the door behind them, and he winced when Harry shoved his chest.

"YOU HAVEN'T FUCKING TOLD HER YET?!" Harry yelled as Ron got back on his feet and rushed over to his friend, trying to quiet him. "BLOODY HELL MATE!"

Ron shoved a hand over Harry's mouth, "No," he hissed, "I haven't told her yet, okay?" He watched as Harry's eyes seemed to glow red. Ron now dragged Harry back to the shed in the garden and pushed him inside, before waving his wand to lock the door and put a silencing charm around them. When he finally looked over at his best mate, his stomach sank. Harry was fuming.

"So," Harry began, the anger still apparent in his eyes and voice, "Why have you not told my best friend, the girl I consider a sister, that you're leaving on a very dangerous mission, and that you might not be back for months, or even at all!" Ron gulped, the guilt making him wants to fold over and retch.

"I…" Ron thought his answer out; maybe he could come up with a quick lie. Lie? Who was he kidding? He couldn't lie to Harry. "I didn't know how to tell her, Harry." He admitted sheepishly. He felt, like so many times in his life that he was inferior to Harry. Harry had been able to be honest with his wife, but he lacked the courage.

"So? You should have found a way to tell her, Ron! We were told about this yesterday, we have to leave tomorrow!" Harry now was pacing the small shed, and his loud footsteps were driving Ron over the edge.

"Harry, I just couldn't, okay? We were both so… happy. I didn't want the last real day that I spend with Hermione to have this cloud of pain hanging over it. I wanted it to be a day we could remember and feel good about," Ron claimed desperately, trying to justify himself.

"But you're lying to her Ron!" Harry shouted again, stopping his pacing and staring directly at his friend, his chest rising and falling quickly as his face flushed again.

"I'm not lying!" Ron almost screamed now, but the guilt made him sink to his knees and hold his face in his hands. Why hadn't he told her? She would be so hurt by his lack of honesty with her, and he just couldn't take it.

"You are withholding the truth. And it's just as bad as if you had lied straight to her face." Harry now said softly, watching Ron crumble before him. He sank down to Ron's level, and the redhead looked up at him with tears in his eyes.

"I know Harry, my reasons for not telling her are selfish and wrong. But I wouldn't change them," Harry had looked shocked by Ron's confession, but before he could say anything else, Ron finished, "I will have this day with my wife to remember as I head into my unknown fate."

Ron gave Harry a look and they both stood. "You have to go tell her," Harry stated simply. Ron lifted the silencing charm and unlocked the door before the two left the small shed. They walked back in silence to the front door, but before he opened it, Ron looked to Harry.

"Just let me wait until after dinner," he stated quickly, hoping Harry would understand. With Harry's nod of approval, they walked back into the house. Ginny still sat forlorn on the couch, Fleur apparently trying to comfort her in hushed tones. But given the nature of their relationship, it wasn't helping. Hermione was now helping his mum set the table, and she chatted idly with her about her latest invention at work. Mrs. Weasley shot Ron a dangerous warning look, and he realized that she must have been informed of the mission too. Charlie sat at the table bouncing little Amèlie on his lap, and the twins whispered in a corner to Bill, who nodded with a soft smile on his face.

Mr. Weasley walked up behind Ron and rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. Ron nodded and rested his hand over his father's, squeezing it softly. He watched his beautiful wife continue to live in ignorant bliss, and his gaze turned to his baby sister, who was now weeping softly on Fleur's shoulder.

"Dinner's ready," his mother called out softly, but not with the usual amount of life in her voice. The Weasleys all walked quickly to the table, but there was not the usual levity about them. Ron stood back for a minute, watching his family together for what he imagined could be the last time. Hermione noticed his hesitation, and he watched as she came over, gave him one of her loving smiles, kissed his cheek, and lead him by the hand to sit next to her at the table.

The meal was unusually quiet that night, as Hermione, who normally spoke only a decent amount, was leading the conversation. She talked mostly to the twins, who were happy to have someone still lively at the table, and she laughed loudly at their jokes, unaware to the silence around her. Ron noticed Ginny's annoyance with Hermione's good mood, and he watched as his sister shot his wife glares throughout the meal. He held Hermione's hand tightly, stroking her palm with his thumb, letting his finger trace the word's 'I love you' into her hand.

Hermione stood quickly to help his mother clear the table when the meal was finished. Ron grinned to himself softly, Hermione's over eagerness to please the Weasley matron was extremely apparent as she followed her into the kitchen.

Ron looked up from his lap to notice the entire table glaring at him. "What?" He said, trying to seem casual.

"Ron, you have to tell her now," Harry said quietly, now holding Ginny in his arms again her eyes misted up again. The other men at the table nodded their heads in agreement, and Fleur stood quietly, grabbing her daughter.

"You can't wait any longer," She said while adjusting the sleeping toddler in her arms, before kissing Bill on the cheek and heading upstairs to put down her sleeping daughter.

"Just… give me until after desert, okay?" His brothers, father, and best friend looked at him skeptically. "I promise, I just want to enjoy these last moments with her."

Ginny looked up at him with her tear stained face, "She'll hate you for waiting."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Ron declared softly, looking down at his hands and avoiding eye contract as his wife walked back into he room, carrying the desert plates with his mother.

The room went back into its awkward silence, and Hermione began to explain to Ron's father the role of alarm clock radios and Harry whispered quietly in Ginny's ear, trying to reassure her of something. The only other sounds besides this were forks hitting plates and Mrs. Weasley muttering softly to herself. Even Fred and George managed to stay quiet for the time being.

Ron looked panicked as Hermione let out a loud laugh as once again the twins resumed discussing Hermione and Ron's sex life, in hushed voices so as not to let the matriarch hear what her sons were discussing. Hermione was hunched over laughing, and Ron swallowed quickly, watching as his sister looked about ready to jump across the table and kill her.

As Hermione let out another laugh, Ron knew that it pushed Ginny over the edge, and he watched his sister stand up from the table. Shoving her chair back away from the table. "I can't stand this anymore Ron, you have to tell her!" She shouted, glaring at Hermione before she stormed quickly up the stairs. The sound of a slammed door confirmed that she was in her bedroom.

Hermione looked confused, and very upset. "Tell me what Ron?" He grabbed both of her hands quickly, gulping, as he was getting ready to explain.

The rest of the Weasley clan sat there in awe, but it was George who broke the silence. "Come on, everybody out, it's going to be awkward enough as it is," and within a few seconds it was just Ron and Hermione alone in the dinning room, sitting at the table.

Hermione now looked angry, rather than upset, and Ron gulped again as he massaged the top of her hands with his thumbs, holding them tightly. He looked into her confused eyes and took a deep breath.

"Ronald, what is going on? What is that you have not told me?"

"I'm going on a mission Hermione," he said softly, trying hard not to avoid her gaze.

"You go on missions every day Ronald, what's so different about this one?" Her eyes never left his, and he knew right then that he lacked the courage to tell her this, and consequently break her heart. Yet somewhere he found some strength to say his next words. Perhaps it was the strength he had earned from his Auror training, but he continued on, slowly.

"For this mission, I'll have to be gone for a while-" and before Hermione could protest him by saying that he had gone on long missions before, some that almost lasted a week, he cut in, "I could be gone for a few weeks, or even a few months. However long it takes Harry, Tonks, and I to find Lucius Malfoy and the scientist."

"But Lucius Malfoy is dead!" Hermione said quickly, her voice rising in volume. Ron nodded his head, holding her hands tighter. "I watched him die Ron!"

"I know Hermione, I know. I thought that too, but apparently not. WE have evidence to believe that he had faked his own death, and has been living in the shadows since that time. But now, he wants to bring back Voldemort and start another war." Ron looked up to find tears in his wife's eyes, as she fought to accept this news.

"How can he bring him back? Harry banished Voldemort's soul! He can't come back!" This led Ron into the explanation about the American Wizard Scientist and his charm to bring back the physical form of the Dark Lord. Hermione was now in his arms, and he looked down to find her sobbing into his shoulder.

"Why are they making you go?" She sniffled, not looking up at him as she crawled into his lap. Ron was expecting anger from her, but he also hadn't told her that he'd known about this mission for over 24 hours, or that he was leaving tomorrow. But he knew within the hour she would be asking him these questions.

"Because I'm an Auror, because I fought in the last battle, because I'm side kick to the boy who lived. Because I want a world where the threat of evil no longer exists."

"Why won't they let me go with you!" She was almost screaming now to, "I was a third of 'The Golden Trio', I fought beside Harry in the final battle. Why am I not allowed on this dangerous mission!" Now she was screaming, but she didn't leave his lap.

Ron quickly took her face in his hands, forcing her to stare deep into his blue eyes. "Because if you died, I couldn't bare to live, I couldn't go on!" He was shouting too now, and they both were breathing heavy.

"And what makes you think I could go on living without you?" she said softly, staring into his eyes as her breathing was still ragged. Ron felt hot tears fill his eyes and he tried to blink them away, he wanted so much to forget about this mission and resume his life, the perfect life he had with this beautiful woman.

"Because the world wouldn't be safer or more secure without you," he said quietly, his eyes leaving hers. He really wanted to shout, 'Because you might be carrying my child!' But he kept it to himself. He didn't want to upset her because the fact remained that Ron could not know the answer to the question of whether or not Hermione was pregnant.

Hermione broke herself free from his grasp and stood up, the angry fire rekindling in her eyes. "That's your only reason Ronald? And when did you find out about this mission anyway?" Her voice began to rise again,

"Yesterday at work," he said quietly, avoiding her gaze by looking down at his hands, thoroughly ashamed by the lack of honesty he had with his wife. If this was supposed to be a test for their relationship, then it was proving to be quite difficult. 

Now she was yelling, "You found out YESTERDAY at work and you're just NOW telling me!" She was crying again, he could tell by the sound of her voice, but he refused to meet her gaze.

"I wanted to share… what might be our last few days together… in peace." Ron realized he was now almost whispering.

"These last two days have been a lie then!" She shouted at him, tears rolling down his face. "I can't believe you Ron!" He watched her quickly wipe the tears off her face, only to see that within moments fresh ones replaced them. Ron longed to take her in his arms and cry with her, hold her and convince here that this would pass. He knew what he did was wrong, he knew he shouldn't have withheld this information from her, but at the time, he did what he thought was best. Now if he were a braver man, he would tell her about her potion bottles, he would tell her it was all fake liquid and that he hoped to the gods that she was already pregnant.

But he would be lying once again, the more he thought about it, the more he was terrified to be a father, to have a child to have to protect from the evils of the world. Yet these things could not be changed, and for a moment he hated the fact that she would find out, probably alone, and not have him to share that beautiful moment with.

Ron watched Hermione stare at him furiously, tears still running down her face and her eyes red from the crying. "You're not even going to defend yourself!" She finally said. Although her voice was strained and almost quiet, it dripped with disdain. He winced at her tone, and nodded.

"I think we need to go home Hermione…" He whispered softly, standing up and walking towards her. Yet she moved away from him, folding her arms across her chest.

"How can I trust you now? You've lied about this, what else are you lying about?"

The guilt swam in his stomach, and for a brief moment he almost told her about the false potions. But he said nothing, and shook his head no in response. "I'm not lying about anything else 'Mione, please. I love you, so please lets go home. You can scream and yell at me all you want, but lets not do it here. Please, we can work this out so we can just put all this behind us, and spend the last night we might have, just the two of us." Tears were now down both of their faces, and Ron was getting desperate now. "Please," he finally spoke softly.

The look Hermione gave him made Ron's blood turn ice cold. She was shaking her head with such disgust and repulsion, like Ron was an ugly bug that she longed to squish. She threw her hands in the air with an exasperated noise and ran from the room and out the front door. Ron was suddenly terrified. She couldn't leave him. If she left, he would be nothing. He ran to the door to follow her ignoring his family sitting and waiting for him in the living room, but as he opened the door, he watched her disapperate with a 'pop'.

His knees hit the hard ground with a thud, and he held his head in his hand, crying freely now. How could he make this up to her?

Ginny Weasley stood by her husband at the window, tears in her eyes. Harry, her one true love, stood there stiff as they watched the scene outside between their best friends unfold. Hermione and Ron, the two people in the world she thought deserved the most happiness, were now miserable once again.

"Harry…" She whispered, and watched as he softened at the sound of her voice. "What are we going to do?" Ginny continued softly, then turned to the window to gaze on her brother, who was still crying with his head in his hands on the ground. The ominous clouds above looked like a thunderstorm would be rolling in within the hour, to add to the foreboding mood of the night.

"We make this right," he replied to her, and Ginny turned her gaze back up to him. "We make their last night together perfect." She nodded, but continued to watch his face, and by the look in his eyes, she understood that he was thinking.

"Ginny, I want you to live with Hermione at the Burrow while we're gone. Please, don't fight me on this. You both need each other and the protection of your parents. And I wouldn't be surprised if.. if well." She watched as a ghost of a grin came to his face.

"If what?"

"Nothing, its nothing, just a hunch I have. Well, let's go."

"Let's go where, Harry?"

"Let's go make things between Ron and Hermione right again."

"Yes, but…. How?"

"We'll think of something, but I will not let their last night together be spent away from each other. And neither will ours."

**A/N: So! What did you think? Sorry it took me forever to post again, I've been so busy lately.**

**Reviews are incredibly appreciated! So please leave me one!**


	6. Chapter 6

_I am SO sorry that I took forever to post another chapter! I have been so busy lately but I promise to start updating more. Thank you to all of those who reviewed and added my story to your alerts! They're all appreciated._

_To my beta and co-writer __Lavinia Andronicus__: you're amazing!_

_Once again, I own nothing._

Chapter 6 "Then We Have No Time to Spare"

Hermione had never been this angry with her husband before. _Well_, she thought to herself, _he'd never been this selfish before_. There was no reason for him to hide that from her! They had made a promise after the final battle to tell each other everything. She could remember the night, as the rain pounded on the windows of St. Mungo's, they made the pact. Harry was still in a coma in a private room, but Ron and Hermione had been moved to a bigger room, along with Neville, Fred, and Charlie. Ron somehow awoke to Hermione's crying in her dreams, and he woke her up. She remembered him cradling her in his arms as she told him everything. Everything she felt when she watched her parents be tortured, everything from her childhood fears to how she felt when he was around Lavender.

And he had held her, not saying a word as she let it all out. The therapist healers could not get her to open up, not through dream journals or music therapy sessions. No elaborate charm or potion could calm her down. But when Ron held her, when he listened, everything was better. So that night, after she had slowed down her crying, Ron made her promise never to keep anything from him. No secrets, no fears, nothing was allowed to be bottled up inside of her anymore. And he promised in return to do the same.

It had been that way ever since. Until now.

With a flick of her wand, she put a hex and a lock on the door to their bedroom, ensuring that he wouldn't be allowed in tonight. How dare he suggest that they spend this last night together, forgetting the lies he told! Yes, that certainly made for a convenient situation for him!

With renewed strength from her anger, Hermione turned around quickly, pointing her wand at the door to cast another hex. But by doing so, she saw a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and finally realized what a mess she looked like. Her hair was wild around her face, her eyes were puffy and red from crying, her face stained with tear tracks.

She began to pace the room in a fury, which did nothing to settle her nerves nor did it allow her to think clearly about the present situation. So when she heard the familiar clunks of her husband walking up their stairs, Hermione whipped around to face the heavily locked door.

"DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING IN HERE RONALD WEASLEY!" The roar that came out of her seemed to slow him down somewhat, as the sound of his footsteps was softer and slower.

"Hermione…. We need to talk about this." His voice was quiet, broken. She had expected him to come barging upstairs in his ginger haired rage and demand that she open the door. But he did not. He just asked to talk.

"Oh, so NOW you want to talk." Her response was delayed yet there was venom to the words she spoke. She wanted to make sure that he wasn't getting out of this easy.

A sliding sound and then a soft thud confirmed that Ron was sitting against her door.

"I'm not leaving," he spoke softly. Hermione knew in that moment she was fighting a lost cause. He wouldn't leave, not after this. She could hex him through that door and he'd crawl right back to it. With uncharacteristic forgiveness, Hermione slid down the opposite side of the door, letting her back rest against the dark wood.

"Why won't you just leave me be?" She sounded desperate, half wishing Ron to just leave her in her anger. It was easier to deal with the growing hole in her heart.

"Because I just wanted our last day together to be normal," he said and Hermione heard a great intake of breath. "I didn't want to memorialize it."

"You didn't want to make it feel like it was our last day together."

She swore that she could feel him exhale through the door, "Yes, exactly."

"You still could have told me. We could have made it normal."

"It wouldn't be the same 'Mione… you know that."

Although she felt like killing him for not telling her, she had to agree with his philosophy. She would have been a wreck the entire day, regardless if she had promised to act as 'normal' as possible.

"I love you." He said quietly.

"I know."

"I'm sorry."

"I know." Hermione could not bring herself to say anymore; the tears started to spill from her eyes once again and her throat started to constrict. The last night they would spend together for what could be weeks, or even months, should be spent talking, laughing, and making love. _We can work through this…_

"Hermione?"

"Yes Ron?"

"Please let me see you."

Without a reply, Hermione stood up from the floor and with silently released the spells off their door. She could feel the sigh of relief escape her husband's lips and the soft creak as he lifted himself off the floor. Hermione reached out her hand and slowly opened the door, to reveal a broken man. Ron stood before her, his face red with humiliation and exhaustion almost radiated off him.

"Oh, Ron." She moved towards him, throwing her arms around her neck and a sob escaped her lips. There they both stood, crying into each other. They did not heed Moody's old warning of "Constant Vigilance" as they once did, the couple stood open for the world to see.

Somewhere in the crying, the two latched onto each other in a passionate kiss. They kissed each other as if they were trying to steal the oxygen from the other person's awaiting mouth. Hermione's kisses moved from his mouth to his neck, and she smiled softly to herself when a moan escaped his lips.

They moved quickly, clothes were thrown about the room, and the only sounds were skin hitting skin and the pleasurable sounds of lovers. He picked her up and threw her onto the bed, quickly moving on top of her naked form. Before she had time to convey her wishes, his lips covered her breasts, as his fingers slipped into her silky folds. Hermione let out a cry of ecstasy. She felt a moan against her chest, but then it quickly turned into more nibbles.

She began to grind her hips against his hand, her breathing grew heavy, and he knew she was ready. With a fluid motion, he withdrew his fingers and entered her. Ron was sure the shout she issued could be heard everywhere in the house. He thrust into her quickly, knowing that her climax and his own were close. With a shaking cry, Hermione climaxed, tightening around him as he thrust in quickly, emptying his seed within her.

They lay there shaking. Ron remained inside of her, trying to steady his breathing as he now shifted to rest on his elbows, trying to take his weight off of her. Yet she pulled him back down to lay fully on her, wrapping her arms around him. He buried his face in her messy curls, breathing in the sweet scent of cinnamon. "I love you 'Mione."

"I love you too Ron." She ran her fingertips down his back, smiling to herself as he shivered from this touch.

Harry and Ginny had arrived fifteen minutes before, to the sounds of passionate moans coming from above the fireplace. Ginny rolled her eyes, but Harry grinned.

"Well you can say one thing for my brother." Ginny said, not daring to hide the sarcasm from her voice.

Harry grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. "And what would that be my love?"

Ginny flashed a smile up at him, "He's got serious game."

Harry let out a loud laugh, kissing the top of her ginger head. "I'll have to agree with you on that one."

Hermione awoke with a start from her dreamy after-sex state. "What was that?" Ron grunted something about the wind, but Hermione rolled her eyes, slightly pushing him off her so she could get up. She grabbed her dressing robe and slipped into it, wrapping it quickly around herself. Her husband watched her in a half-sleep state as she grabbed her wand and walked cautiously out of their room.

He let out a soft groan, rolling out of the bed and stumbling around their dark bedroom. Finally, Ron found his boxers and slipped them on, silently summoning his wand and following his wife down their hallway.

She was already halfway down the stairs when he caught up to her, and the only sound that now came from downstairs were someone else's heavy breathing. Hermione held her wand out as she walked into the dimly lit living room, only to roll her eyes when she found her two other best friends making out on her couch.

Ron let out a loud grown when he saw Harry and Ginny entangled on the couch, "Get a room," he let out as he watched the other couple jump apart. Harry's hair was in a state of heavy dishevelment and his glasses were halfway off his face, while his sister's top was not quite in the right place on her body.

Harry gave a sheepish grin, but Ginny was already prepared to quarrel with Ron. "Well we had to find SOMETHING to do while you were shagging your wife!"

It was Hermione's turn to blush, as she realized how loud they must have been. She wrapped her robe around herself more, but knew already that it was made out of pretty thin material. Ron grinned at her blushing face and wrapped his arms around her. "Well if you thought the moaning was good, you wouldn't believe how amazing the actual-"

Hermione hit him hard in the arm before he could say anything else, "Ronald!"

Harry and Ginny both snickered at this. "So we see that all is well then?" Harry commented.

"Yes, but we still need to talk about what happens next," Hermione said softly, remembering what was to take place tomorrow.

"I agree, what's the plan boys?" Ginny said looking between her husband and her older brother.

Ron guided his wife over to a chair, sitting down first and placing her in his lap. "We," he said, gesturing to Harry who nodded, "think you should live at the Burrow until we return."

"WHAT?!" Both women looked at them like they were insane.

"I think we can handle ourselves." Ginny said, already fuming.

"And we really don't need to intrude on your parents any more." Hermione said, causing Ginny rolled her eyes at her response. Hermione really thought this plan to be ridiculous. She was one of the strongest witches in the world; she really didn't need Ron's parents to baby-sit them.

"The Burrow is now virtually untraceable after the attack on it at the wedding during the war, you'll be safer there, and you'll have company." Harry spoke softly, avoiding their gaze. He knew these precautions would not stop them if all of the death eaters wanted them, but it gave him at least a false sense of their security.

"And Hermione, apparently Mum and Dad already offered," Ron said, "so don't worry about that love."

"Will you be able to communicate with us?" Hermione asked hopefully.

Ron tried to answer but Harry got to it first, "No Hermione, a patronus from time to time to let you know we're safe, but anything else would be risking too much. I'm sorry." Harry ran a hand through his hair, making the damage worse and disheveling him even more.

"How long again?" Ginny said quietly, holding Harry's hand tightly.

"We… don't know Gin," Ron said, almost brokenly. "A few weeks, a couple of months. We won't know how long it will take us to find them."

"And then defeat them? How do they expect only three Aurors to defeat Voldemort and his followers again?"

"There's a spell we will cast Hermione that will alert all the Aurors once we find them, and it's not really Voldemort anymore, it's almost the ghost of him. He's not as powerful."

"But he's still a threat!" Ginny cried out, and Harry rubbed his hand up and down her back. "We know we're in danger. But we've done this all before, this isn't like the first time. We all know what we're up against now."

Hermione nodded at him and stood. "So you leave tomorrow?"

"We leave tomorrow." Ron nodded, standing up with her.

"And we go to live at the Burrow?"

"Yes,"

Ginny and Harry now stood, heading for the fireplace.

Hermione turned to look at all of them, "Then we have no time to spare."

Harry grinned and caught her drift, gathering floo powder and his wife and shouting their address loud and clear. They stepped into the fire, and were gone.

Ron turned to his wife and grinned, "So, what did you have in mind?"

She let her robes fall off her body, "I think you," she walked over and kissed him, "of all people," she ran her hand down his chest, "should know exactly what I have in mind."

I hope you liked it!

All reviews are very appreciated!


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione grinned, as she started to kiss her way up Ron's freckled, yet toned chest

First off, let me start by apologizing. I've had a really hard time writing this story. I didn't really have a lot of time this year, and to top it off, I lost my Beta. So this chapter is short, and I'm sorry for that too. But I need a Beta to continue, someone who can correct my grammar and let me bounce ideas off of him or her to make the story work. If you can be my Beta, please review/send me a message on . Thank you to everyone who continues to read.

XOXO

Goodbyeybr

Hermione grinned, as she started to kiss her way up Ron's freckled and toned chest. He moaned a bit in his sleep, but pure exhaustion kept him from waking. She continued her careful attentions, blowing lightly on the skin after she kissed it. She could see the goose pimples rise quickly on his skin as his body responded to her touch.

"Wake up Ron," she whispered softly. True the small rays of light in their large windows showed Hermione it was only six thirty in the morning, but he had to be ready to leave by eight, and she wanted as much time with him before his departure.

They still had many, many things to discuss.

She watched as her husband began to stir, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Hermione knew he wouldn't be happy to be waking up right now, as getting Ron up any time before eight in the morning was always a challenge. He sat up in their bed, blinking as his eyes tried to adjust to the summer light that crept slowly into the bedroom. The white sheet covered his lower half, but left his chest exposed. Ron smiled at her, but Hermione saw the unsettling mix of guilt and sadness in his eyes.

"We need to talk," Hermione finally stated simply. Yet the two continued to stare each other down for another minute.

"Yes… yes I know," her husband spoke softly, pulling her into his arms. She sighed as she rested her head on his chest, waiting for him to continue. "Hermione, I know you think my Mum doesn't like you, but that's rubbish, she adores you. I want you to live there while I'm gone so you can stay safe and so you can keep Mum and Ginny sane."

Hermione snuggled closer to him, breathing in his scent. "But what happens when I go out? Won't Rita Skeeter and her photographers notice that you're gone? You know they sit outside the house sometimes and wait for us to come out."

Ron nodded at this, "Yes, we discussed that. The ministry is going to pretend that Harry and I are on a good will tour, visiting the states and other wizarding communities around the world. An 'International Wizard Peace Treaty' or some rubbish. We're saying that you're not going because you've got work in your lab and you're finishing up your latest book. At least that part is true. Gin's staying behind because she's not as internationally known, I mean, you're part of the Golden Trio." He said the last part with a soft chuckle, even though he felt no humor in their situation at all.

Hermione tried to move even closer to him. "And you and I won't be able to talk at all?" She placed a few soft kisses to his freckled shoulder, resting her chin on it when she was done and she stared up at his cloudy blue eyes. He was staring off into the distance, his wrinkled forehead betraying his troubled thoughts.

"Just an occasional patronus Hermione, everything else the Death Eaters might detect," He continued not to look at her, his dark thoughts brooding on what was to come.

Hermione moved away from him, her naked form grabbing their sheet and wrapping it around herself. "Well, let's get you packed," she whispered softly, staring at him. He was refusing to look at her. "Ron, everything will be okay. If you need me, I'm only an apparition station away".

He looked back up at her, now completely naked. Yet the old sparkle came around once more. "Well… we don't have to start packing right away. I mean, you got me up so early and everything… we have a lot of time…"

Hermione grinned at him, climbing back in the bed and putting her legs on both sides of his, placing her hands on his chest to pin him to the bed.

"How right you are Mr. Weasley…"

XOXO

This was the moment he had been dreading for three days. He had to say goodbye to the love of his life, his best friend, and maybe even, the mother of his child. And here she was, in his arms, telling him she loved him.

He had imagined a moment like this would happen to him. In his younger days, when he would rush off into the "Final Battle", Hermione would kiss him like this. But of course, he would be coming back to her in just a few hours. This could take months.

"I love you," He whispered into her mass of brown hair, his salty tears trickling down his face. His wife was trying to stay strong, but he could see the tears swimming in her brown doe eyes. She was his rock, his world. They had not spent more than a week apart since the Final Battle ended their seventh year at Hogwarts.

Ron felt her nod against his chest, "I love you too Ron. Never forget that," Hermione had whispered. He let out another sigh as she slipped out of his arms. But before he had a chance to speak, her mouth crashed into his, her arms wrapped around his neck. Ron became infused with her essence. This could be the last kiss that he gave his wife. With that Ron put his all into this moment.

Hermione broke away first, which seemed like hours later. "You… you should go Ron…" Her hands were now laced with his. "Harry and Tonks will be wondering where you are, you're port key probably won't last that long…"

Ron continued to stare at her, trying to take her in. "I'll be back 'Mione, yeah? And maybe you know… we could… start our family."

Her eyes looked so hopeful, and for a brief moment Ron felt hope and happiness fill him. Yet he had forgotten the key words that he told her that he would come back to her. "Yeah…" He tried to awkwardly laugh now, "Maybe we could start with another cat?' Ron saw that happiness flee her, which just made him feel worse. But she would never tell him that.

He grabbed her and kissed her one last time. "I love you," Ron whispered before leaving with a pop.

Hermione fell to the floor with a sob, finally letting it all out.

XOXO

She was numb. No feeling remained inside her body or her mind as she started to pack her clothes into a few suitcases. Granted she could come back to her home at any time, she was just a flick of her wand away.

But Hermione wasn't sure that she'd want to come back. This was a place she and Ron shared, and now he would not be here for a while. She paused in the middle of folding a shirt, when would Ron be back? He said he didn't know, maybe a few months. Getting enough information on Voldemort's followers would take more time then that.

As she finished folding the shirt, she realized magic could do this all for her. However, did she want to have more time to think about his absence? No.

So she continued. Folding each shirt, dress, pants, etc. When Hermione finished, she walked through the house, putting a few extra things she would need. Some favorite books, her manuscript, pictures of her and Ron together filled the bags. And of course, Crookshanks was gingerly put into his cage, lured in by a few treats.

Finally she broke down and used her wand to shrink all of the packages (except the one with Crookshanks in it, of course) down to be able to fit in her pocket. Hermione locked the house with her muggle keys and used wards to protect it. It was programmed with her and Ron's safety code, so they, and a few very selective loved ones, could get inside the house in times of trouble.

With that, she took a deep breath, looking around the house once more. "I'll be back soon house, I promise." Hermione whispered, knowing that the reassurance was more for the benefit of herself then of her house. She then apparated to the Burrow to start a new, unusual chapter of her life.


End file.
